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tv   Today  NBC  April 16, 2013 7:00am-9:00am EDT

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captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, welcome to a special edition of "today" on this tuesday morning as we cover a story still unfolding at this hour. i'm savannah guthrie. matt lauer is in boston this morning in what is obviously an emotional and terrible day to you. >> it's a sad and surreal tuesday morning, it's sunny just like it was yesterday for the running of the marathon but this city has now been changed. i'm at the corner of boylston and arlington street, i have
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been to the finish of this race on a number of occasions. it was packed with people standing side by side looking to see if they could spot some loved ones and friends crossing the finish line when the bombs went off. "the boston globe" have a headline that says "marathon terror." we can tell you overnight we know some developments took place. police went to revere, massachusetts, that's about ten miles from here to the north, it's a suburb and they served a search warrant at an apartment there, they interviewed two men this morning, they're only saying that search warrant and those interviews were related to the investigation. they're saying nothing more than that. >> a lot of questions still this morning, matt, and we're also learning more about the victims now, at least three people have died, including an 8-year-old boy. he's being identified this morning as martin richard by our affiliate whdh in boston. more than 140 other people were wounded. witnesses are describing
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horrific injuries the kind you might expect to see in the war zone, given the nature of the devices here, matt. >> we've had some in-depth coverage. we begin with nbc's lester holt, we flew in yesterday afternoon. you've been on the ground trying to talk to people. >> it's fair to say this city, this count waking up to a new sense of vulnerability. lots of reports of suspicious packages and the like. the last leg of the race runners refer to it as heartbreak hill and none of us knew how heartbreaking the day would turn out. terror on the streets of boston. day of inspiration turned into a living nightmare. >> there's multiple people down here, okay. i don't know what the cause is. stand by. >> reporter: as two explosions went off within seconds of each other near the finish line of the boston marathon.
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>> have the bomb squad called. >> i knew immediately it was a bomb, you could smell it, it was like a gun powder smell. >> reporter: for runners prepared to celebrate the end of a 26-mile race, it was an incredible turn of events with emergency workers rushing to the scene at copley square, working fast to save injured athletes and spectators. >> i was carrying somebody who lost both of their legs in the explosion. it was a lot of them lost limbs, catastrophic. >> reporter: at the time of the bombings approximately half the runners in the marathon had finished with the other half quickly approaching the final mile. confusion, shock and fear struck those now separated from loved ones. >> there was just families all around us with kids, i mean, yelling and screaming and i mean, we just wanted to try and get away as quick as possible. >> a scene of chaos usually reserved for the battlefield. >> this is like a bomb explosion
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that we hear about on the news in baghdad or israel. >> reporter: over 100 injured were rushed to boston's major hospitals for treatment. more than 23,000 runners from 96 countries plus thousands of fans were gathered downtown for the annual race. third explosion was rumored to have occurred around 4:20 p.m. on monday at the nearby john f. kennedy library, though further investigation indicates it may have been an unrelated maintenance fire. this morning, the national guard has secured the area where the blast occurred, and officials say the fbi is now leading the investigation. >> it will be an ongoing investigation. it is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation. >> reporter: initial reports indicate the bombs including bebes and other objects aimed at inflicting the most harm possible. overnight police went to an
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apartment building in revere, massachusetts, and interviewed two men. security has been increased in new york and los angeles. from the white house, president obama pledged to hunt down those reonsible. >> make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this and we will find out who did this. we'll find out why they did this. any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice. >> reporter: monday was patriots day in massachusetts, and the boston marathon is usually a day of celebration. for many, it will now be remembered as a day of shock, sorrow, and terror. boston will be back in business today except for this huge crime scene that extends behind me for about a mile, three blocks on either side, an area closed off to business owners and even residents who live in this area and savannah, we should note public transit passers have been
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warned there will be random searches on the "t" here of bags and other objects. >> lester in boston thank you so much. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams following overnight developments in the investigation. pete, good morning. it seems there is no clearer picture as to who may be behind this. >> i think that's certainly true although there is high hope that they will be able to answer that shortly. they know for certain the attack involved two bombs, but many other packages found on the street were deemed suspicious and destroyed and that took a lot of time last night. there were many packages to check because after the explosions officials say many people simply dropped what they were carrying and ran, leaving their packages behind. there were conflicting accounts whether investigators found two unexploded bombs. this morning a senior law enforcement official says there were no unexploded devices, just the two that went off. several officials say the bombs that went off included shrapnels
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to multiply the injuries, bebes and ball bearings. investigators are investigating video to see if they can see individuals placing the packages. there is a video from the back carrying two backpacks but it's too soon to know whether that had anything to do with the attack. authorities say there is no suspect in custody but they did talk last night to a 20-year-old saudi man here on a currently active student visa. he had burns and questioned for hours and it's his home that was searched in the boston suburb of revere. they carried away some materials for examination but o official said it's too certain to know one or the other about him, that he might have been an innocent bystander. >> let's get to michael lighter, nbc news terrorism expert. good morning to you. the key question everyone is
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waking up with is what is your gut? does this bear the hallmarks of some domestic terrorism or do you suspect it may be an act of international terrorism? >> i know it's not very satisfying but from my experience at the national counterterrorism center, you don't follow your gut. what you actually do is very methodically collect these pieces of evidence, it's the forensic evidence, it's the videotape, it's reporting from the cia and fbi and sources and putting that together. my gut is the person who did this has some connection to boston because they so effectively picked the iconic symbol of patriots day and the finish of the boston marathon. i also don't think we have enough information to point in domestic or international terrorism. you have to be careful speculating what it might be. >> on the one hand you have crude devices and on the other
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hand a coordinated attack. you can look at points on either side of this. >> although the devices weren't as large as we've seen overseas or what we saw in 1995 in oklahoma city i would hesitate to call them crude devices. these did go off relatively simultaneously, far enough apart they would have killed or hurt a separate group of people so i think this is a pretty sophisticated attack in the midst of an enormous amount of security, so the bombs could have been a lot larger but clearly somebody thought about this, planned this and executed it with some meticulous work. >> michael leiter thank you very much. we'll send it back to matt in boston. >> thank you very much. as we mentioned many of the injured remain in hospitals this morning. nick and leanne ianna were watching the race when they were hit by shrapnel from the blast. they're at tufts medical center, good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> leighanne, let me start a
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asking you, what are the extent of your injuries? >> i have an open tibula fracture and waiting to get a skin graft either today or tomorrow and then probably be put in a boot for the last part of the healing. >> and nick, how about you? were you injured as well? >> i was fortunate i only had a pierced eardrum. >> leanne, describe for me how close you were to the finish line, how close you were from where these devices were detonated? >> i'm not sure exactly where it was detonated. it sounded awfully close. we were probably about ten feet from the finish line. yeah, it was quite loud and definitely could smell the smoke and everything when it happened. >> and nick, i understand when you looked down and saw the
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extent of leanne's injuries you went into shock. how long was it before either of you could get to the hospital and were you able to stick together? >> when the police came in, they wanted to get anybody who wasn't hurt out and so they could take care of everybody who was hurt. we were close enough to the bomb that went off by the finish line that there was a lot of bad things going on and everybody was just trying to help everybody. >> there was probably about 15 minutes if not more by the time i was carried from marathon sports to the medical tent and then i got loaded onto an ambulance after that. >> i had to sneak to the back of the medical tent and try to find my wife. >> i'm glad you two are back together. leanne, i wish you luck with the surgery as you described it a little bit earlier. our thoughts are with you. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for joining us.
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steve silva is a senior sports reporter for "the boston globe." he was covering this marathon as he has done so many times in the past and he caught the explosions on tape. in that video you can see marathon official tom maher coming to the aid of a fallen runner. guys, nice to see you. you watched this through your lens. what was it like? >> it was surreal. the immediate split second a loud, dull thud. i thought a cannon celebration for a runner coming across, but as we got closer and 12 seconds later we heard the second explosion. >> i spoke to someone last night at the first explosion there was confusion and the second explosion there was chaos. >> that's when it set in and you saw the scene as we got closer to the fence and it was just on the other side of the partition and could you see the blood and some horrible things there. >> there is that video that you took that shows a runner falling to the ground, being aided by a
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man who happens to be the man standing next to you, tom. you know, a lot of people when they heard the second explosion they ran away. you ran in the other direction or tried to help out. what did you see first? >> i was walking toward exeter street to see one of the officials and diagonal, maybe 20 yards from the front of that lens crafters store and horrific blast moved me to my left, i thought i was going to fall down. i did not. as i turned i saw a wave, a huge wave of smoke and blast coming at me and i actually saw bodies flying, moving around, uncontrollably. >> you've been a volunteer at the finish line, a coordinator there for 17 years. did anything seem different about yesterday? did you notice anything suspicious, anybody that seemed out of place? >> no, nothing at all. >> steve? >> no, it was very, unlike last year when the heat was the big story, it was a perfect day for
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running. this is in the afternoon when all the charity runners are coming, the people running for dana farber, the river foundation, because they've lost a family member, people that don't run marathons and used to coming across the line with emotion. about 9,000 were stranded out on the course when this happened. >> the images are dramatic. i appreciate you joining us this morning. much more coming up including security impacts in cities across the country. for now natalie has a check of all of the top stories. out of iran a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck iran this morning near the border with pakistan. tremors are the rahling residents and building across the gulf region all the way to new delhi and india. a hard landing for a marine ch-53e super stallion helicopter
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near seoul. the chopper was participating in joint military exercises with south korea. all 21 people on board survived the incident, six of them remain in the hospital in stable condition. the senate is set to take up the gun control debate today as republicans and democrats face off over the issue of background checks for people purchasing weapons. vote could be delayed until later this week as both sides seek more time to rally support. a bipartisan senate group files sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system in what is said to be a landmark of president obama's second term agenda. the effort would create legal avenues for international workers to come to the u.s. and put the 11 million immigrants currently living here illegally on a 13-year path to citizenship. hope and solidarity lit up brooklyn last night as the artist of the illuminator projected these words on the
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brooklyn academy of music, "darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that." they sent a message of support from our city to the great city of boston. 7:16, you're up to date. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thanks so much, natalie. we are looking at more snow. we cannot get rid of this snow it seems, in fact the denver rockies who are going to be playing the mets their game was snowed out yesterday, probably again today. look at all the snow from duluth, minnesota, all the way into utah, heaviest amounts are going to be about a foot or more from cheyenne to casper as far as rapid city, south dakota. we're going to get your local forecast in just a moment but first this message. we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer,
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one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪ >> good morning. it will be a little bit warmer than yesterday. today we will be in the upper 60's and the low 70's. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. of course the images from this tragedy in boston, matt, are hard to forget. >> yes, they really are and the
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city, you can see it's anything but normal. just a second ago some boston police pulled up, took control of the intersection, a bus pulled up behind them and members of the national guard got out and went down into the lower areas here, then it moved on and it seems like they're dispersing around the city. hotels are seeing incredibly high security, we came in last night, drove along storrow drive, every off-ramp was shut down by state troopers. they wanted people to simply pass through and get out of town. one moment, joy on the faces of runners and spectators behind us and yesterday afternoon the next moment there was panic. >> go away, go away. go back. go back. >> my god. my god. oh, my god.
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>> we're coming on the air right now to report two explosions near the finish line of today's boston marathon. >> all units stay off the air and make your way over there. >> and we just saw chaos. >> this is like a bomb explosion in baghdad. >> make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this. >> bostonians pride themselves on their toughness and we'll keep on living our lives the way we do. >> we'll have more ahead from boston and new york. this is "today" on nbc.
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are going to the orioles game. there is no credible threat to baltimore according to the city commissioner, but officers are taking precautions. homeland security officials are working to keep camden yards secured during the upcoming nine game home stand. traffic pulse 11 and some problems this morning. >> let's bring you up to date, there is a lot going on. 795 is the latest crash coming in on the northwest corner, backing up traffic on the outer loop and 795 south. a live picture at the 895 split, lanes closed at that crash. delays are developing quickly past the white marsh. we have an accident past white marsh boulevard, the lei is going all the way back to mountain road. another crash coming in northbound 83 at york road and
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west. this is the northbound accident on 83, taking up the left lane passed the beltway. 22 minutes on the west side outer loop. watch for those delays to develop on the north side as well. that is the very latest on traffic pulse 11. >> a nice start for us in terms of the weather this tuesday. cloud cover over night breaking up now, 52 at t airport, 54 in westminster. rain in the northwest aociated with a cold front coming in tonight. until then the weather should be fine. a mixture of sun and clouds, even a bit warmer than yesterday. the seven day forecast, a 30% hey, what are you drinkin'? i'm drinkin' dunkin'.
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it is 7:30 now on a tuesday morning. it's the 16th day of april, 2013. it is also the morning after the deadly twin bombings at the finish line of the world famous boston marathon. good morning, everyone. i'm matt lauer in boston. this morning, savannah is back in studio 1a in new york city. >> we were both in boston recently, we know what a special time this is for the people there. you lived in boston for a short time. i imagine this is a city whose
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heart is breaking today. >> it is. this is such an important and iconic event to this city, 500,000 or so people come here for the boston marathon every year, it's held on patriots day, it's a celebration, a chance for the people of boston to show off their best side and this happens and yes, savannah, the people here are still in shock this morning and there are so many heartbreaking stories and also some really touching moments as well. from what we have heard this morning from so many people, personnel from the race came streaming out of tents and volunteer areas to treat and help the victims, runners crossing the finish line then continued on jogging or walking to area hospitals saying can i donate blood to help the people who were injured in these blasts? coming up one doctor who was watching his wife compete in this race and ended up working on some of the injured, savannah. >> a bit later on, part one of our exclusive interview with
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president obama been . we talked about the push for new gun legislation, facing a critical test on capitol hill and this unfolding crisis in north korea, what he makes of this new young leader, kim jong-un and a lot more. we'll have that and a lot more. let's begin this half hour with more on the terror that unfolded at the boston marathon just before 3:00 this afternoon. nbc's katie terr is at brigham and women's hospital. >> reporter: good morning, matt, there is still a lot of security here at brigham and women's. if you're not supposed to be in side, they are not letting you inside. many victims suffered massive trauma to their lower bodies. the boston police department confirmed three people have died. this was obtained by our
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affiliate whdh, an 8-year-old boy and they have confirmed his name is martin richard. the carnage of the blast on boylston spread quickly to hospitals. some missing limbs. >> just mayhem, patients left and right, no legs, no arms. >> reporter: the chaos in the streets and the rush of victims to local medical centers felt like a war zone. >> we're going to get the victims out. >> reporter: people screaming, others fleeing and so many left wounded. >> i've been to afghanistan, it was like that kind of bomb. >> reporter: this shrapnel from the blast scene left many with lower body injuries, some lost legs on scene, others to necessary emergency room amputations. >> patients have minor eardrum blasts all the way through to really serious limb injuries and someerious head injuries as well. >> reporter: the explosions in boston worried many throughout
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the nation who had friends and loved ones at the marathon. among the uncertainty the s.w.a.t. guard stood at the entrance to the hospital. family and visitors asked to leave, only the injured allowed. >> we're locked down because it's unclear what is going on in the city and we want to make sure our security team and caregivers can stay focused on caring for the injured. >> reporter: people looking to help in any way they could. >> a lot of people were hurt, we ran as fast as we could down here to give blood. >> reporter: just after the blast some runners rushed to the injured on scene, others crossed the finish line, kept on running straight to mass general to try to give blood, to do what they can, tremendous outpouring of support from the community as this tragedy unfolded. nbc news confirmed the saudi man who was being questioned is here at brigham and women's. he suffered bad burns, he's only being questioned, he is not a suspect as of now and matt we
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expect as the morning goes on to get updated information on all of the victims being treated. >> katy tur, thank you very much. dr. alan painter was waiting for his wife, teresa, to cross the finish line when the explosions occurred. he tended to the injured when teresa and the others were turned around. good morning, nice to see you. doctor, you're an emergency room physician operating out of florida, this is your 15th marathon. you two were separated but you were waiting for teresa to cross the finish line and from what i understand, you were right in the middle of both of these blasts. they were at 671 boylston and 690. you were standing right in the middle. >> i was about 20 to 30 feet from the first blast. >> and how closely were you surrounded by other people and what was the impact like? >> well, i was surrounded by a lot of people as we're all trying to watch the runners cross the finish line. the people to my left took the blow and the blast, most of them dropped. the people behind me actually
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did, too, and i was standing there without a scratch. >> you mentioned it was like dominos that the impact hit the first people and they fell down and you were the one left standing. when you first started to see the injured around you, talk to me about some of the people you encountered. >> well when i first spun around i saw one lady bleeding from her leg wound, put some compression on that and realized what had been to my left had gone down and just started helping with the other bystanders, pulling people actually apart because they were laying in a pile basically with mangled limbs and started working on each person as could you. >> and doctor, i know encountered one man who had both lower limbs amputated? >> yes, he lost both legs below the knee and started worki inin a young lady. >> were you able to comfort him at all? >> he was in shock, mumbling words but not coherently. >> teresa you were 0.2 miles from the finish line when the
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explosions took place. you were turned back but you knew your husband was standing at the finish line waiting for you. what was that like? >> it was hard. it was about an hour, hour and a half before i was able to get to my baggage in the bus and call him, because i was grabbing phones where they had held us and no calls, we couldn't get any calls out so i didn't know. it was upsetting. >> must have been some moment when you got to see each other after that. >> yes. >> both of you wanted me to say the volunteers, the people around the scene of these explosions were incredible in the way they acted. >> the people on the street, i'll just say the sidewalk volunteers, instead of running away, they stopped and fell and worked with people. when the boston athletic association volunteers came, they came with supplies, and once you got in the medical tent it was all that an e.r. physician could ask for, cots, ivs, nurses and physicians. it was well prepared. >> doctor, thanks for what you
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did, thanks for joining us, teresa, thank you so much. we'll have much more ahead from boston in a couple of minutes. right now let's head to new york and get a check of the weather from al. >> matt, thanks so much. talking about the winter storm and also got a severe side to this storm as well. take a look at the area of severe weather today, abilene, texas, to cincinnati to birmingham, alabama, we've got the risk of strong storms, tornadoes, hail, wind. we're looking at a vigorous line of thunderstorms moving through the midwest and this line of thunderstorms going to also be a big problem for tomorrow from again abilene all the way into peoria, illinois, risk of tornadoes, heavy rain, two to four inches of rain, could be flooding rains tomorrow. that's what's going >> good morning. today should turn out to be a nice day. a mixture of sun and clouds.
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>> that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next the question some are asking in the wake of the boston bombing. how do you keep people safe at crowded events like a marathon or a parade or anything else? we'll talk about that, right after this. [ children shoutin] [ blows ] [ poof! ] wooo! hey there! i'm your rav4 genie. got any wishes? i wish my son was safer. well, this rav4 has a blind spot monitor and 8 airbags. whoa! how about when he's not in the car? right. [ snaps fingers ] [ laughter ] oh, no. oh, yeah. wooo! use your knees. [ male announcer ] the all-new rav4. toyota. let's go places.
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back at 7:43 now as you might expect, this deadly attack in boston is prompting increased security in cities across the country. nbc's tom costello is on the national mall in washington, d.c., this morning. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, savannah, good morning. this is emancipation day here in washington that, means a parade down pennsylvania avenue. it will go on as planned. in london this weekend they have a marathon planned. next weekend a marathon is planned in oklahoma city, all of it with the threat of terrorism looming large. in washington, always viewed as a potential terrorist target, a show of force, heavily armed police and dog teams patrolling the subways, checking trash bins. in new york the nypd in grand central station and times square and across the country the lapd out in force at the dodgers
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game, union station and lax but security experts warn ensuring 100% security at a public event like the boston marathon simply isn't realistic. >> if somebody wants to go out and kill people, they can. the question remains, can they cause mass casualties and can they sustain an attack. >> reporter: oklahoma city, 1995, 168 dead including 19 children. timothy mcveigh was convicted and executed for planting the bomb. the atlanta olympics 1996, two dead, more than 100 wounded after a backpack holding pipe bombs exploded. domestic terrorist eric rudolph was arrested seven years later. london, 2005, 52 dead, 700 wounded, after coordinated suicide attacks on the underground and bus systems. times square 2010, a car bomb failed to explode, police later arrested a pakistani-american trying to board a flight to the
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middle east. dan bongino's job when he was at the secret service, protect president obama with 1.8 million people on the washington mall gathered for his first inauguration. >> you can't guarantee anything. all do you in the field of security is reduce the probability of an event like this to hopefully something so miniscule so if something happens your response afterwards is enough to keep the casualties to a minimum. >> if this turns out to be domestic or international terrorism it will remind people of the difficulty of the task that we have been working against over the past ten years. >> reporter: security experts say that over the last 11 or 12 years as we've gotten farther and farther away from 9/11 americans have grown tired of being hassled by the tsa and the security at sporting events and this soft target a marathon underscores the fact that these threats remain very real. >> tom costello in washington for us this morning. bill bratton is the former
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police commissioner in new york and served in los angeles as well. good morning. >> good morning. >> i know this strikes close to home for you. when you talk about securing an event like the boston march than, open air, outside event with thousands of spectators and runners, what kind of sweep do you think would have taken place prior to this? >> well, there's a multifocus, there's the intelligence analysis that is going on all the time to see if there's any chatter, any discussion on a number of these channels about the event. at the same time there's the physical security component of it, the bomb dogs, the physical barriers that are put up, all the various planning that goes into pulling off an event like this, the crowd control, emergency responders, response if necessary. certainly in yesterday's event the boston marathon event the response to that event was instantaneous, it was the result of a lot of the training and emergency preparedness that's
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gone into american cities over the last 10 to 12 years since 9/11 but as has been clearly indicated you cannot prevent everything. we've done a very good job over the last 12 years but yesterday showed that unfortunately you can't stop it all. >> and these are of course critical hours in the investigation. obviously the officials are going to be overwhelmed with tips. they also have the advantage of a lot of cell phone video of this incident as it took place. give us an insight into two investigators are dealing with right now. >> well, first of all, now we have the fbi in charge of the overall investigation, that's a protocol that's been established in incidents which appear to be terrorist in nature and certainly the extraordinary capabilities of that agency and its intelligence and evidence gathering assisted now by the boston police and effectively every other federal agency, they will be going in many directions, one at the scene itself, analyze the devices that
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went off, try to make a determination as to what did they look like before they went off, that helps them potentially identify the people or person involved in its preparation and planting. there will also be basically working all those tips that you referenced, they will be going back over any tips or comments that might have been made about the marathon. in our country as you know there is no shortage of people who have grievances, who hate and who unfortunately don't manifest themselves in acts such as this routinely, but right now there is no understanding of who might have been behind this. if law enforcement officials do have that focus or understanding, understandablier this not giving it out to the public until they know for certainty who was involved. >> always a note of caution in these early hours. bill bratton former police
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commissioner of boston and other municipalities in the u.s., thank you so much. we are back with more from new york and boston, right after this. see life in the best light. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. visit your eyecare professional today to ask about our newest lenses, transitions vantage and transitions xtractive lenses. experience life well lit. ask which transitions adaptive lens is best for you.
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boston we'll have the latest overnight developments on the investigation into the deadly bombings here, savannah? >> we'll also have our exclusive interview with president obama, what he's saying about the in:nk and the fight over the guns bill, after your local news. especially my niece. the moment she pointed t my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis... well, it was really embarrassing. so i had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, she prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred.
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good morning. it is 7:56. time for a check and your morning commute. >> a very busy morning rush out there for your tuesday. extra time, especially if you plan to head out on the west side. an accident there on 35 miles per hour affecting the traffic. 95, a live picture in the white
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marsh area, traffic almost at a standstill. that is gone, but now we have an accident south at white marsh. near ebenezer road. delays stretch back to the hartford county line. north point, watch for an overturned tractor trailer. northbound 83, watch for an accident, on the left lane in this live camera, you can see it impacting the traffic going away toward the beltway. also a couple of accidents in the city. northbound two, another accident we are tracking. northbound 95 past 195, watch for a crash. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> not a lot done around whether department this morning, partly
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cloudy skies with temperatures in the low to mid 50's. we expect a mixture of sunshine and clouds with high temperatures in the 60's and 70's. seven day forecast for the weekend, a 30% chance for rain showers into tonight, the best chance for rain with a strong cold front in the upper 70's
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something just blew up. [ screaming ]. >> breaking news on a tuesday morning, we are learning more about the dual explosions that rocked the boston marathon, an iconic event now marred by tragedy. it's 8:00 op. a somber tuesday morning, i'm savannah guthrie in new york and matt is in boston this morning. >> savannah, good morning again
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to you. the scene here was obviously surreal. the runners were approaching the finish line after completing more than 26 miles of this race, there were people on the sidelines, family members and loved ones cheering them on, they were lining the streets. this morning the fbi is now leading an investigation. it's being called a very fluid and active investigation and we're going to have the latest on it in just a couple of minutes. savannah? >> matt, also ahead we'll air part one of our exclusive interview with president obama. we sat down with him just hours before the attack in boston and asked him whether he thinks congress will pass this new gun legislation, it is hanging by a thread according to some accounts and how worried is he about the provocative rhetoric and actions we've seen from north korean leader kim jong-un. does he think he's stable? we'll hear from him in our exclusive interview coming up. new details on this deadly attack at the boston marathon,
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lester holt joins me once again here in boston. good morning. >> good morning again. this investigation is moving on so many different levels looking at surveillance videos along the routes, cameras that might have captured something. there were some important developments overnight we want to catch you up on. search warrants were apparently issued in revere, massachusetts. they searched an apartment, they questioned two men, they're not being described as suspects. it's the first of many leads or possible leads that police will be following up as they try to piece all this together. we can also tell you among the three dead the youngest victim an 8-year-old child. 140 people at least injured, taken to hospitals here, one doctor described to me last night the injuries as mostly being lower extremity issues. there have been amputations, there have been muscle damage from shrapnel apparently put in the explosive devices that went off. we're told there were at least
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two explosive devices that went off here. the crime scene behind me stretches about a mile, three blocks wide, that area of boston will be closed off indefinitely. that means businesses and some homes that people cannot get to. the rest of boston will be up and running today although we're told public transit passengers have been warned there will be random searches, matt, as they continue to try and calm this city but secure a city very much still on edge. >> you can understand why people here are on edge. lester, thank you very much. we appreciate it. pete williams, nbc's justice correspondent, is following the investigation. pete, you've got forensics, intelligence, eyewitness accounts and an awful lot of video so those investigators have a lot to look at. >> yes and the pieces of the bomb itself. in terms of the search first of all that is the apartment of a 20-year-old student from saudi arabia who is here on a currently active student visa. he was in the hospital with burns, some people thought he was acting suspiciously.
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he was questioned all night. there's still no final word on what exactly his status is. one official said he might be involved, on the other hand he might turn out to be an innocent bystander. secondly on the question of how many devices, they seem to be thinking there were just the two, that there were no unexploded devices, although there were many packages left on the street as people simply dropped what they were carrying and ran away and all those things had to be checked. today they'll try to find every little piece of the devices, and there's a great deal of optimism about this. let me give you a quick example here, matt, of what you can find by looking at little pieces. in the olympic park bombing in 1996 in atlanta, this is what authorities were able to say the device was made of just from looking at the tiny little pieces they found. they knew it was in a backpack, had a metal base, smokeless powder and alarm clock, a small
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champl of what they will be able to find out once they get all of the little pieces of the bomb. >> pete, years ago you used to talk about the signature of a bombmaker with so much information on the internet these days, is that kind of a passing concept? >> it's a changing one certainly, although they will hope to be able to determine maybe perhaps by what sort of internet things the person was inspired, how did they wire it together? what kind of wire did they use? all questions to be pursued. >> pete williams in washington, pete, as always, thank you very much. nbc's katy tur is at brigham and women's hospital in boston. they treated about 30 victims from the bombing. katy good morning to you. >> reporter: there are at least 126 patients at area hospitals that number is expected to grow as people wake up this morning and realize they may need medical attention. there is a major police presence but it has been stepped down
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slightly as the morning has gone on. you are now allowed to enter the hospital. there are two still in critical condition, nine others who have limb threatening moves, they might need amputations. at boston children's hospital they are treating ten patients and we are told the youngest patient being treated anywhere could be as young as 2 years old. the boston police department has confirmed three people are dead and our affiliate whdh has confirmed one of them is an 8-year-old boy named martin richard, he is from dorchester and that community is just in a state of disbelief right now. we do expect updates on conditions of patients as the morning goes on but we do not expect to get any names at least for today. >> katy tur at brigham and women's hospital in boston. more from boston coming up, let's head back to new york. natalie has a check of the stories making headlines. we're following breaking news oversea this is morning as a major earthquake has hit iran,
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shaking buildings as far away as india. nbc's tehran bureau chief ali arouzi has the latest. >> reporter: that's right a huge 7.8 magnitude earthquake has shook the southeast of iran. iranian authorities say this is the largest earthquake that's hit iran in the last 40 years and a very earthquake-prone country. we're hearing reports of two villages that have been affected in the southeast, sarsvan and hesh. the villages are very far from tehran and communications have gone down very badly. last week a power plant in bushir which killed 37 people and injured another roughly 900 so we have to see exactly what the death toll and injury toll from this earthquake in the southeast is going to be. >> we're following developments, ali arouzi in tehran, thank you.
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a senate showdown is looming over the proposal to expand background checks. the white house said president obama was calling lawmakers to urge their support, and sponsors of the measure are reportedly considering a change that would exempt gun buyers who live hundreds of miles from licensed firearms dealers. a sweeping immigration bill being introduced today in the senate would give 11 million immigrants in the country illegally a path to u.s. citizenship eventually and pour as much as $6.5 billion into border security. for a look at how the internet community is reaching out in the wake of the boston bonding google launched a person finder and others turned to the red cross safe and well program, people can register to let friends and family know they are okay.
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comedian patton oswalt his facebook message to the culprits that the good outnumber you and we always will has gone mega viral, a picture and a quote of former children's tv host mr. rogers with his reminder that when you see scary things in the news, look for the helpers. you will always find people who are helping. and bostonians also were opening their hearts and homes to anyone stranded by the tragedy. google has created two online documents where people can reach out if they need a place to stay or have one to offer. it's good to see some good in all of this. it's 8:09. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> natalie, thank you so much. as we take a look on our satellite and radar, you can see we've got a pretty good line of showers and thunderstorms stretching from new england all the way into the midwest. snow back through the northern rockies. we'll see six to nine inches of snow back through parts of wyoming, risk of strong storms from oklahoma all the way into i
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had high, look for wet weather moving into the northeast and later today windy, breezy and we're looking at high surf >> good morning. it will be a little bit warmer than yesterday. today we will be in the upper 60's and the low 70's. >> that's your latest weather. savannah? >> al, thank you. coming up next the potential significance of the timing of the attack on the boston marathon, why have so many tragic mass killings happened in this country during this week of april. we'll get into that, right after this. we can all be at the corner of "just another prescription"
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welcome back to this special edition of "today" as we cover the aftermath of monday's bombings at the boston marathon. natalie is back with more on why this event means so much to this city. >> that's right, savannah, from many participants completing the race is a lifelong dream. it is known for its challenging hills and its enthusiastic crowds but this year it became the perfect target for terror. who could have predicted a race that began with the traditional starting gun would end with a pair of explosions. a city wide celebration transformed in an instant by an act of terrorism. >> everybody was excited, taking pictures and next thing you know it's just utter chaos. we were terrified and the only thing we could think of, is there another bomb? >> it's literally the best day of the year in the city and everybody is just absolutely stunned.
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>> the marathon is beloved in boston. it is held on patriots day, statewide holiday to mark the shot heard round the world at the battles of lexington and concord. each year, revolutionary war re-enactortake the field and so do the red sox. >> red sox win! a walkoff on patriots day! >> reporter: played an early game so fans can catch some of the marathon. it is now the longest running annual marathon. this year the 117th annual. the event has overcome hurdles, finally allowing women to run with the men in 1972, and now letting disabled athletes compete. over the years, many marathon runners have drawn inspiration from dick and rick hoyt, the father and son who have completed the race more than 30 times. the sta the uof the pair was unveiled in the days leading up to the race.
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and we have heard from the hoyts on their facebook page. they say everyone on their team is okay. they say, though, to please, let us pray for all the victims and their families. so vanna? >> thank you. mike lua is an author and columnist at "the new york daily news." good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> this is hitting the heart of boston in so many ways, and the soul and spirit of the city. >> anybody who has ever attended this race, anybody who has ever spent time in boston and i went to college there, my two sons have gone to school there, i have a son at boston college there this becomes personal for them. unless you've ever attended, it's impossible to describe, this is the best day of the year. maybe when a sports team wins a championship it feels better. this is a celebration you think on this day of everything that's good in the world. all you see are happy people. tired, happy people at the end of the race but all you hear from hopkington on are cheers and the site yesterday of people running away from the finish
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line at the boston marathon like we saw people running away from downtown manhattan is one of the most chilling and sad things i've ever seen. >> you've covered it many times. the street is loaded with spectators in so many ways the perfect target. >> it's an open target and even though the winners had come through long ago, somebody's waiting for somebody at the finish line. some family member is waiting for a wife or a daughter, a son. my son's roommate's sister was running in the race. she got to the 23 mile mark and a lot of these kids carry cell phones in the race because they're back in the pack, not trying to win the race. her brother calls her from the finish line and says stop running and the kid said, did something happen in new york? people always assume it's something in new york and then they started getting herded back towards fenway park, and kenmore square so instead of running toward the finish line which is a great triumph for the runners they're moving in the other direction yesterday because of
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the bombings. >> it's heartbreaking. mike lupica it's always great to have your perspective. this is a city and event that means a lot to you. >> i'm on my way up this morning. >> let's turn to matt for more in boston. >> savannah, thank you very much. as the nation tries to sort through this tragedy, you can't help but remember that a lot of other violent incidents have happened in the month of april. nbc's tom llama s is here right now. >> we know the last 20 years in this country several terrorist attacks and school shootings have taken place this time of the year, some connected, some random, all of them deadly. as tough as they are to wah, these images coming out of boston are all too familiar. especially during april, which has become a painful and unforgettably violent month in this country's history.
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six years ago today the virginia tech massacre, 33 people killed on the campus. >> he killed my best friend. >> reporter: during another shooting at columbine high school two teenagers killed 13 of their classmates and themselves april 20th, 1999. >> let's get out of here. move everybody back. >> reporter: in 1995, timothy mcveigh truck bombed the alfred p.murow building. also on april 19th the end of the waco siege in 1993, after a 51-day standoff, authorities took control of cult leader david koresh's davidian compound, nearly 19 people died in the aftermath. timothy mcveigh acted in part because of what happened in waco. one more quick note about the timing. yesterday was tax day for everyone in this country but here in boston it was patriots day which commemorates the
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battles of lexington and concord, the start of the u.s. revolutionary war. big day not only for the country but boston. >> what was supposed to be a celebration turned out differently. let's go back to new york and savannah. >> matt on monday evening president obama spoke about this tragedy offering his thoughts and prayers to the city and vowing justice to those involved. i happened to sit down with him shortly before these explosions and we talked about a number of things in the headlines. we began with the gun legislation before congress that many say is now hanging by a thread. >> i think we've got a good chance of seeing it pass if members of congress are listening to the american people so let's just take the example of background checks. 90% of americans think that we should make it tougher for criminals or people with serious mental illnesses to obtain a gun, and so the notion that
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congress would defy the overwhelming instinct of the american people after what we saw happen in newtown, i think, is unimaginable. >> you are asking democrats and conservative states to take a tough vote politically, something you, yourself, did not do. you didn't run on this in 2008 or 2012, not after tucson, not after aurora. >> i think that all of us had to reflect on what we did or didn't do after newtown. if the question is, is this potentially difficult politically because the gun lobby is paying attention and has shown no willingness to budge, then the answer is yes. that's a given. now, if the question is what's the right thing to do and what are the american people believing overwhelmingly? if that's what's guiding members of congress during the next couple of weeks, then this will pass. >> let's move to north korea.
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is kim jong-un unstable? >> well, i'm not a psychiatrist, and i don't know the leader of north korea. what i do know is that the actions they've taken, the rhetoric they've engaged in has been provocative. it has been condemned across the board internationally, and it's unnecessary, because what it's done is ironically isolated north korea further. if they want to rejoin the community of nations, that path is available to them. >> the cycle of provocation for them, as you well know. is there something qualitatively different about this time? >> well, this is the same kind of pattern that we saw his father engage in and his grandfather before that. since i came into office the one thing i was clear about was we're not going to reward this kind of provocative behavior.
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you don't get to bang your spoon on the table and somehow you get your way. >> is this the closest we've been to war with north korea on your watch? >> you'll recall that north korea shot down a korean, south korean fishing boat, that wasn't just words, that was action, so we've seen this kind of pattern before. i think all of us would anticipate that north korea will probably make more provocative moves over the next several weeks, but our hope is that we can contain it, and that we can move into a different phase in which they try to work through diplomatically some of these issues so that they can get back on a path where they're feeding their people. >> does north korea in your estimation have the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile? >> based on our current aintelligence assessments we do
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not think they have that capacity but we have to make sure that we are dealing with every contingency out there and that's why i've repositioned missile defense systems to guard against any miscalculation on their part. >> on the budget, is this your last best final offer to republicans? >> what i tried to do is put forward a budget that i think is a realistic compromise. >> would you go farther on entitlement cuts? >> it does not give republicans everything they want, frankly it doesn't reflect everything i would like to see. it puts forward some of the ideas the republicans had suggested around entitlement reform that i think are reasonable policy. >> they say it's not enough and it's not enough to make a deal, would you go farther? >> i think that before we go anywhere, right now we've got to see from republicans what exactly is it that they want to do. i mean, when they say they want to go farther, what do they want to do? what are they putting on the
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table. >> you've got democrats a little mad at you, too, saying you've cut social security and medicare and now this is going to come back and haunt them in their races. >> part of what we have to think about, whether we're democrats or republicans is how do we create a system where our social insurance programs, medicare, medicaid and social security are sustainable for the long-term and my budget does that. it makes sure that people in need are cared for, but what it also says is let's make sure we're not spending it all down now so that the next generation that's paying into the system can't going to have those same benefits. >> a lot to talk to the president about, matt, and of course we sat down with him a few hours before all of this happened in boston, so much going on in that news between the gun legislation, immigration legislation being unveiled, and yet as we are so often reminded, news events, something like this, changes everything in an instant. >> yes, nothing can be predicted
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now, another big issue perhaps on his plate, and i look forward to more of your interview tomorrow, savannah, here on "today". meanwhile we're back with much more from boston and new york, right after these messages and your local news. >> good morning. it is 8:26 and we have a final check at the morning commute. >> there is a lot going on out there. what are we tracking? right now, the outer loop, accident off to the side, causing delays on 795 in the northwest corner. things looking better at southbound 95 towards white
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marsh. beyond that we are still -- we are still dealing with delays. rte. 40 near ebenezer road, we are still tracking an accident in the outer loop. eastern avenue, and overturned tractor trailer with all lanes closed in the live picture at liberty where you can see we are still dealing with the backup. that stretch around 23 on the north side. watch for a crash at hanover in east hamburg. northbound 95 past 195 in the red because of an accident backing up traffic. northbound route 2, highway at jones station an accident. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> nothing going on weather-wise this morning, a little bit of cloud cover in some neighborhoods but there is sunshine breaking through. 54 in westminster, 53 in elkin, rain to the northwest, picking up some showers and thunderstorms in ohio and
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indiana, this front will slide closer to us tonight with the possibility of a few rain showers and during the day we should be dry with a mixture of clouds and sunshine into the upper 60's and low 70's. chance for rain drops tomorrow, friday night and saturday morning to the weekend. >> thank you, tony. thank you for joining us. another update at 8:56.
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it's 8:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 16th of april, 2013. it is as you might imagine a sad day in boston, massachusetts, really around the country as
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investigators search for some answers to monday's terrifying attack near the finish line of the boston marathon. i'm matt lauer in boston, ava in a, al, natalie are back in new york city and guys, looking here on boylston street, just about four blocks from the finish line and normally the afternoon after and the day after a marathon this is the scene of triumph and victory for the people who have come from all across the country. as you can see though this morning it is barricaded off. cars are moving through the intersection. it is an active crime scene behind me and it will be until more answers are known and the questions surrounding this. coming up the latest on the injured from one of the emergency room doctors who has been treating patients at a local hospital, guys. >> and matt, as you well know this is in many ways an event that unfolded on social media as well, so many people looking for answers, for information, trying to find family members via social media in the moments following the attacks so we're going to have that story, too.
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first let's get a check of the weather. >> we have an active weather day. as we show you what's going on for today a risk from oklahoma all the way to central ohio, down into alabama for strong storms, windy along the california coast, heavy snow back through the northern rockies. rain moves into the northeast later today and tonight. tomorrow wet weather stretching into the upper mississippi valley, snow through the western explains. strong risk of storms in central oklahoma, expecting dangerous lightning, hail and tornadoes there as well. that's what's going on in the w >> good morning. today should turn out to be a nice day. a mixture of sun and clouds.
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>> and for your latest whether go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> al thank you so much. coming up, much more on the tragedy in boston just ahead including the role of social media in the moments following the attack. but first, this is "today" on nbc. kids...
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heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible. we are back now in boston on this tuesday morning in the chaos that followed the bombing here, desperate families tried to find out if their loved ones were safe. nbc's kerry sanders is with us now that part of the story. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. with more than 26,000 people running in the race from 98 different countries as news spread on the internet, you can imagine phone calls started
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coming in from around the world and that crushed the cell phone system. voice calls were next to impossible but the one thing that did work and worked well on these phones, social media. within moments of the blast -- >> i have to call my husband, thank you. >> reporter: as panic set in, those nearby reached for their cell phones, calling, tweeting pictures but within minutes the cell phone system was overwhelmed. >> i was glad that i was able to text because it was very hard to keep up with everyone back at home asking if we were okay. >> reporter: what did work, texting, facebook and twitter. almost immediately pictures went online, one of the first on twitter appears to show a plume of smoke from the first explosion, and orange flames from the second detonation. as news spread in international nanoseconds, family members and loved ones took to twitter.
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even police used twitter asking for help. boston police looking for video of the finish line and the fbi posted if you have a crime tip, please point your browser here. among those racing monday, new kids on the block singer joey mcintyre who tweeted i'm okay but'm sure there are many hurt and olympic swimmer summer sanders tweeted in part, really ready to be home and hold my baby. unlike the aftermath of 9/11 when families put pictures on walls looking for loved ones, in boston, google activated a people finder site. as the day progressed, the conversation changed online, with people taking a closer look at that picture of the blast, wondering about the man seen on the roof. whomever is responsible, it will never make sense as to why. >> so furious with whoever did this. >> reporter: and that anger is now online as well.
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two of the victims that i spoke to right here at tufts medical center said that not only are they angry, they want the answer as to why, and they know there will never be a justification to answer the question why. savannah? >> kerry sanders in boston, thank you. this boston marathon attack is a global event, it's being felt around the world this morning, for that let's get to nbc's keir simmons in london for us. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, savannah. the horror of what happened in boston is echoing around the world this morning. let me show you a couple of front pages this british newspaper "the daily mail" "bloodbath at the marathon" an italian newspaper showing that chilling picture from the moments after the explosions. german newspaper praising what it calls the well functioning american security system, and how the american security responded immediately afterwards and politicians around the world, too, the australian prime
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minister julia gillard saying australia condemns the attack. statement by china seen as significant, china strongly condemns and firmly opposes any violent attacks against civilians so messages of support for boston from around the world, savannah. >> meantime two big public events coming up in london including the london marathon this weekend. >> that's right. the london marathon is on sunday, they're expecting 700,000 spectators and competitors and prince harry is expected to present medals to the runners at the end of the race near the finish line. sources at clearance house are saying he's still doing that, we've not been notified of changes to his plans but police saying they will step up security and stepping up security for the funeral of former prime minister margaret thatcher tomorrow, former
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secretaries of state james baker, henry schultz and henry kissinger and former vice president dick cheney are expected to attend. there will be high security there because whoever did this, the aim looks as if it was to spread fear. what politicians and police around the world are doing now is trying to ensure that that fear doesn't spread around the world. savannah? >> for so many people on edge for good reason this morning, kier simmons in london, thank you. coming up next, matt talks to an emergency room doctor who treated a number of victims at the scene but first this is "today" on nbc. to hear about y.
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yoplait. it is so good. we are back here in boston on a tuesday morning and throughout the morning, since we've been here, we've noticed that some runners have been stopping by the location behind us here on boylston street, many of them in the jackets they wore while they were running yesterday and they're taking pictures by the barricades back there, it occurs to you that
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some of these people probably never got to finish the marathon. they were rerouted after the tragedy. others may have finished and then were ushered out of this area quickly to avoid the police presence and now they're taking what are sad photos of the 2013 marathon finish line. meanwhile doctors and nurses are working tirelessly and have been to treat the wounded at six area hospitals. some of the best hospitals in the country, right here in boston. dr. ron walls, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at brigham and women's hospital, one of those great hospitals, dr. walsh, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> i'm just curious, because there were so many people in town yesterday, 500,000 people here for the marathon, did you have extra personnel on standby because of the event? >> we always prepare differently for the marathon than for an ordinary day so we have additional medical staff in the emergency department and we also cooperate with boston ems and the other city hospitals to have
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a medical team near the finish line. >> i'm sure you were expecting a lot of running related injuries and instead at ten minutes of 3:00 these two explosions. try to take me back and describe the scene in the emergency room as these patients started coming in. >> you have to understand that the emergency department at that point is really anticipating what we would call a normal busy day, so we were geared up. we were ready for these types of running-related issues, and it almost literally is like throwing a light switch, you go from this preparation and ready to do what you think is going to be just a typically busier than normal day, a marathon day and a switch is flicked and all of a sudden it's a whole different thing and fortunately we have drilled for this many times, both within the hospital, within brigham and women's hospital here and cooperatively across the city of boston, and so when we respond to these things, it's
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a pretty quick response. >> yeah, there were 28 people i understand brought to brigham and women's. we know there was shrapnel in these explosive devices. talk to me about the injuries you were seeing. >> we had 31 patients in total, nine of those patients had to go to the operating room and the injuries that we saw predominantly were really severe, what we call muss skoe skeletal injuries so injuries to the muscle issue, broken bones, exposed to air, large amounts of tissue loss in those areas, that was the predominant thing. the shrapnel we saw wasn't what we consider weaponized shrapnel, it wasn't something you. you the in a device to make it more lethal. it's the kind of stuff that blows around when an explosion goes off, just the stuff that was there. >> we have reports that there were people who lost limbs. i know i talked earlier to a doctor from florida who actually tried to care for one gentleman
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who lost parts of both legs. were you seeing amputations at your hospital? >> we had some really severe limb injuries. i don't know if they ended in amputation. it's hard to know at this point but we had some very severe lower extreme injuries, as severe as i've ever seen. >> and you mentioned you had 31 patients. can you tell me how many of those are still in your hospital this morning? >> yes, of the 31, nine went to the operating room emergently and 14 are still in the hospital in total. >> dr. ron walls, who is the chairman of emergency medicine at brigham and women's, as i mentioned one of the great hospitals in the boston area, dr. walls, thanks for your time this morning. i appreciate it. i know you guys are busy over there. >> thank you, matt. >> we're going to have much more coming up including thoughts from nbc's tom brokaw, but first this is "today" on nbc.
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back at 8:48 and in times of national tragedies like monday's bombing in boston we turn to our colleague and friend, nbc's tom brokaw who has unfortunately covered so many of these events. tom, good to see but >> good to see you, savannah. go ahead, i'm sorry. >> i was just going to ask you your initial impressions. >> well my initial impression is this demonstrates once again just how vulnerable we are
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despite the fact that in this free nation we have so much more restrictive security in everything you do in the workplace and public places and so on, but you can only guard against so much, but it's important this morning to know that we need to know a great deal more about who was responsible for this, was this part of a wider network of some kind? was it just some freelance lunatic? what was the political philosophy or ideology behind it, if there was any of some kind at all, or was it more like newtown, the shooting, was it just some deranged person who wanted to get attention? until we find that out i don't think that we can come to any sweeping conclusions about the long-term impact on this country. what i do know this morning is that across the country, security will be ratcheted up at public events and workplaces and government offices because that's always the response that we need to have and unfortunately, it's going to be a fixed part of our lives i think forevermore.
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>> there's no question at time like these people are looking and remembering some of the terrible moments in our history, of course people think of 9/11, and that feeling of vulnerability but as you mentioned, tom, it's much too soon to know what the nature of this attack is. >> that's exactly the case. take oklahoma city, for example, which happened in 1995. we knew that that was a well defined terrorist attack, carried out by timothy mcveigh and his accomplices who were determined to bring down the federal government if they possibly could. you have to remember that 168 people were killed in oklahoma city. i was just there last week. i saw the memorial again, it's a very somber but beautiful place and everyone i talked to in oklahoma city said the residual effect of that bombing was it made the city more compassionate. it united people in a way that they could not have anticipated at the time and ironically, oklahoma city was scheduled to have a memorial marathon next
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week on the 19th, another patriots date, by the way, but now they're reevaluating all that and on our website expressing their solidarity with boston. so we're united, unfortunately, by these acts of violence, whether it's mass shootings or these random, terrifying bombs. >> and you mentioned the significance of this date. one does not have to look far to see examples that happened of significance this week. it was patriots day in boston with the opening of the american revolution and unfortunately, we've seen acts of violence during this week as well. >> we have and we don't know whether that was just a coincidence or not, the virginia tech shooting took place in mid-april, way dough was in mid-april, was that just an accident of the calendar or was that part of the deliberate pattern. as i say there's a great deal more that we need to learn today about who was responsible for this and what the motivations might possibly have been, was it just a freelance lunatic or was it part of a wider network.
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from the time of 9/11 on and i've been talking with our national security experts on a regular basis, they've always been worried about what they called sleeper cells, either well-organized out there waiting for an opportunity or freelancers who get motivated by something that they see on television. you remember that we were very lucky not so long ago with that car bomb in times square in which that man didn't know what he was doing, thank god. he's now going to spend the rest of his life in prison but that could have been a terrible act of violence. >> it always bears reminding at this time, as a long time practitioner of our craft that early reports are often in error. i think we've become used to getting more information even this soon after an attack we often do know something of the nature of the attacker, in this case there really are more questions than answers. >> i think everybody has to take a deep breath, savannah, this morning, report what we know and do the best we can with the information that we're able to get reliably and then all care
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for each other a little more and be patient when you're in the security lines, not just at the airports, but trying to get into an office place or public event of some kind. this is going to tax our patience, it's going to be another test of the resilience of the american people. i have no doubt we're going to meet it and just one other comment if i can. when i was looking at the scenes in boston today i didn't see anybody in the street rushing to help others, whether they were first responders or bystanders turning to someone and saying i can't help you because you're from a red state or blue state or tea party member or republican or democrat. these are the times when america is more than the sum of its parts, it's a lesson not to be lost especially in washington. >> tom brokaw always good to get your perspective. >> thank you, savannah. >> as we bring matt back in, give us a sense of how people are feeling in boston. i said to mike lupica a few minutes ago this truly struck at
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the heart of the city in every possible way. >> it's funny, mike barnacle for his duties for "morning joe" and mike is a long time observer of everything boston. he and i made eye contact and shook our heads because this is not the patriots day we remember. i lived in boston on two occasions, was at the finish line of the marathon on several occasions and it's a joyous time, it's a wonderful place, smiles everywhere. not yesterday at ten of 3:00, savannah. >> matt, i know we will continue to check in with you and get the latest on the investigation and unfolding story there, but first, let's take another look at some of the powerful images from monday's tragic events in boston. >> at the boston marathon, already under way. >> something just blew up -- [ screaming ]. run, go! >> breaking news tonight, an
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apparent coordinated attack in boston. >> a place of celebration instantly transforms into a scene of chaos. >> we have multiple people down here, okay. i don't know what the cause is. stand by. >> at first i thought it was a cannon blast but it almost blew my hat off. >> it was loud, it was really, really loud and then people just, chaos everywhere. >> it was carnage. it was just carnage. i saw a man who lost part of his leg. >> i knew immediately it was a bomb. i mean, you could smell it. >> i'm in shock. >> just like a bomb explosion that we hear about in the news in baghdad or israel or some other tragic point.
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>> boston is a tough and resilient town, so are its people. the american people will be with them every single step of the way. >> get out of the zone. get out of the zone. >> the number of casualties is expected to change throughout the evening. >> the numbness in the city, not out of fear, but i think just out of trauma. >> it's absolutely senseless for boston for this to happen on a day like today, honestly the best day of the year in this city. there are really no words to describe it. it's pretty devastating right now. >> good morning. it is 8:56. a look at one of our top stories
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this morning, state police arrested the driver that hit a longtime city employee last week. they arrested johnny johnson in baltimore on monday afternoon. he was high on drugs, found with heroin and cocaine in his car when he killed matthew hersl with his car. here you go little man.
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[ humming ] [ babbling ] the cheerios bandit got you again? [ both laugh ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios ♪ the one and only, cheerios >> it should turn out to be a pretty nice day today. a mixture of clouds and sunshine with temperatures warmer than yesterday, yesterday stuck in the low to mid 60's, today at 70's. >> back with another weather update at 9:25.
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something just blew up! >> run, go! >> welcome to "today" on what is a somber tuesday morning, april 16th, 2013. that was the scene in boston just before 3:00 in the afternoon on monday when the boston marathon was shattered by two blasts, leaving at least three dead and more than 100 wounded. inside studio 1a i'm willie geist along with al

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